You have read right. We live in uncertain times. And most of this uncertainty stems from the fact that governments all over the world have been interfering in the market place in a gigantic way, thus causing, as it would be expected, distortions of even more gigantic proportions. This, in turn, has led to an impossibility of accurately pricing assets and risks. As world economy has always rested on the solid rock foundation of confidence, people have become confused and have moved from greed mode to fear mode, which, deep down, are the only two feelings human nature is capable of experiencing in an inordinate and irrational way.
I, Seymour Levin, am no different from other people. In times of great uncertainty, I tend to turn to other people for sound advice in the hope that they are less muddled than what I am and have spotted something which I, in my myopic view of the world, have been unable to discern.
Now, I am not standoffish in any kind of way. I will listen to anybody who is well-meaning. So, when, last week, my electrician came around to carry out some very needed repairs, I unceremoniously decided to pick his brain. I sought his advice on where I should park my money. His unequivocal reply was US treasury notes and Japanese yen. Impulsively I replied that those were two of the countries with highest rate of debt to GDP and, besides, possibly the two most crowded trades on the planet.
In retrospective, I am sorry to have rushed into such a mindless response. He looked at me intensely and nodded gravely in a way that made me feel utterly ignorant, the way I normally feel when I go to the psychologist and he repeats what I have just told him – a total schlemiel.
Thereafter, I decided to go around the banks for advice. Guess what the common answer was? Exactly. US treasury notes and Japanese yen. Boy, are these financial analysts wired! Or maybe they have been talking to my electrician... I suppose I will never know.
